R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.

Donald Trump’s ‘seichel’

'It's the economy stupid," as we used to say back in the good old days. The good old days being the 1990s when the president of the United States could molest women in the White House during business hours with impunity.

December 19, 2017

Most of the accused sexual offenders have solid leftist credentials

As I ponder the lengthening list of alleged sexual offenders drawn from Hollywood, the arts, the media and politics, I am moved to wonder why the overwhelming majority of the accused are prominent luminaries of the left. Those accused on the right claim utter innocence, including Bill O'Reilly, who nonetheless paid out a fortune to accusers — go "figah," as they say in Brooklyn. At any rate, the lefties constitute the growing multitude.

December 12, 2017

By pointing the finger at Moscow, Hillary Clinton has promoted Vladimir Putin power

Last week we discovered that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn lied to the FBI about the import of what he told them regarding his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Yet Mr. Flynn once served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency during the presidency of Barack Obama. Why would he lie to the FBI about what passed between him and Mr. Kislyak? Had he forgotten that, for a certitude, the conversation of a Russian ambassador was being recorded secretly by American intelligence agencies? Moreover, when he was being interviewed by the FBI, why did he not bring with him a lawyer? When I was being interviewed by the FBI about my perfidious Arkansas Project, I most certainly brought a lawyer with me, and it helped that my lawyer looked like he once worked for Don Corleone. Thinking back on it, I should have brought two lawyers.

December 5, 2017

The New York Times neo-Nazi story is no cause for apology

I never expected to come to the defense of The New York Times, but here I am ready and willing to defend what I have hitherto called the Bad Times as opposed to the Good Times, that being The Washington Times.

November 28, 2017

Al Franken is an odd duck; grateful he’s not my neighbor

As Americans prepare for their Thanksgiving Day turkey or perhaps protein bars, or possibly artichoke hearts, or whatever the au courant are dining upon this year, I would like to propose a thought. You all have much to be grateful for. Our friends on the left may doubt it, but even they have much to be grateful for. For my part, I am grateful not to have Al Franken for a neighbor. You saw what one of the zealots did to his neighbor Sen. Rand Paul. Moreover, I have two very pretty daughters, who will be visiting me. With Mr. Franken in the neighborhood, we would have to maintain a high security watch, possibly even an electrified fence with barbed wire.

November 21, 2017

Roy Moore allegations gives Republicans a migraine

It has long been my conviction that Democrats are the more adept pols, the most tireless pols, the most political pols. I have said that their political libido is that of a nymphomaniac. By that I mean to compliment them, at least to compliment their political skills. The political libido of the Republicans is by comparison the political libido of a Victorian lady, complete with white gloves and parasol.

November 14, 2017

The Clintons use Democratic Party to enrich themselves

After more than two decades of writing about the Clintons, it is pretty dispiriting to see how my friends, the Democrats, have ignored my findings about that rapacious couple.

November 7, 2017

Sex utopia is a myth

"Sex is a beautiful thing." Remember that solemnity being intoned endlessly by the sex prophets of the 1960s, '70s and '80s? Of course, the more recent prophets were preceded by the sexual psychopaths of the 1920s and '30s. There is a long history to the absurdity of sexual utopia.

October 31, 2017

Donald Trump love for America angers the left

Regarding the imbroglio caused by the Hon. Frederica S. Wilson, representing her constituency in South Florida and apparently the entire African-American race in America plus anyone else who hates President Trump, my research has uncovered something interesting.

October 24, 2017

Harvey Weinstein and Hillary Clinton share the same fate

I have been fascinated by Harvey Weinstein's initial response to charges that the Bathrobed Romeo sexually molested women. His statement was at once otherworldly and yet weirdly similar to Hillary Clinton's eventual response to the scandal. I say "eventual response" because it took her over a week to comment. Obviously, Hillary's lawyers and public relations magicians had to word her response very carefully.

October 17, 2017

Las Vegas shootings require culture self-examination

In the aftermath of the most deadly massacre in American history a friend asks: "Why would God allow a man to wreak so much carnage?" And the enormous violence clearly weakened my friend's belief in God. It should not have weakened his belief in God. Who else or what other agent is around to take the place of the Uncaused Cause?

October 10, 2017

Joe Biden could be Democratic front-runner in 2020

I have been trying to warn President Trump, but to no avail. I have been trying to caution him about his tweets, but to little effect. Not that they are all that alarming to normal people. Not that they are without their own special charm. In a world filled with Republicans and Independents, most of his tweets would be informative and even amusing. Yet in a world that also includes Democrats, frankly, they are risky. The Democrats have no sense of humor and many are alarmists.

October 3, 2017

‘The American Spectator’ thrives 50 years on

On the occasion of my 50th anniversary of founding and editing The American Spectator, I feel moved to reflect on the parlous condition of the magazine business. We celebrated our anniversary just last night, and naturally I composed my reflections before the event. What makes this column something more than an occasion for indulgence is that the sickly condition of magazines is, of a sudden, a hot news item.

September 26, 2017

Hillary Clinton’s book reveals author’s anger

What did I tell you? Late in November of last year, after the presidential election that finally ended the Clintons' 24-year pursuit of power in Washington and their diminishment of the Democratic Party, I wrote that the Clintons were finished. I had consulted my sources. What is more, I reported that on election night Hillary had a "meltdown." That is why she never showed up to thank her supporters who were milling around New York City's Javits Center all night. Few others in the media reported it. Yet now I have still more evidence, provided by Hillary herself.

September 19, 2017

Global warming debate heats up after Hurricane Irma

Here we sit in the comfort of Washington and we read of the discomfort in Florida. There a massive storm moved from the Caribbean north through South Florida, displacing as many as 5 million people.

September 12, 2017

Labor Day and FDR are linked

Labor Day weekend passed with soggy weather in Washington. It was not as soggy as in other parts of the United States, but it kept me indoors most of the time, and so I decided to give some thought to the one American president whom I associate with Labor Day, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Actually to be historically correct, I should associate President Grover Cleveland -- a conservative Democrat -- with Labor Day, for he was the first to make it a national holiday. Yet for some reason it is associated with FDR, at least in my mind.

September 5, 2017

An alternative to tearing down statues

I wonder how my old pal Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan would view racial relations today were he around.

August 29, 2017

Donald Trump’s baloney detector annoys his critics

President Trump is in trouble again with his moral superiors. His problem, of course, is that he cannot throttle his baloney detector. Mr. Trump, it seems, at some point in life acquired a baloney detector that has usually served him well. It certainly served him well during his long years in business and during his brief time in politics. Now, however, it is problematic.

August 22, 2017

CNN firing of Jeffrey Lord shows its bias

Last week CNN fired Jeffrey Lord, its famously pro-Trump contributor, for mocking an activist whom The Daily Caller has reported as a racist and an anti-Semite. Mr. Lord addressed him with the salutation, "Sieg Heil!" What is wrong with that? Is CNN covering for racists and anti-Semites?

August 15, 2017

Resistance of Democrats has gotten old

I have experienced defeat in presidential politics many times. Actually, I expect most Americans have. You win some and you lose some.

August 8, 2017